Can Paula Deen come back after racism accusations?

Amid a controversial lawsuit in which a former employee is accusing her of harassment and discrimination, the Food Network decided not to renew Paula Deen’s contract. But will the general public forgive the popular cook, who admitted to using the N-word? NBC’s Tamron Hall reports.

Ashton Carter: ‘I’m confident we will win’ against ISIS

German co-pilot’s friend: He was friendly, helpful person

Virginia hospital in lockdown after prisoner escapes

Backlash grows against Indiana religious freedom law

TODAY
March 31, 2015

Injuries reported in Fort Meade security incident

TODAY
March 30, 2015

This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>>we're back now, 7:44 on a monday morning. we have more on the controversy surrounding
paula deen
. on friday we learned that the
food network
would not renew her contract. well, that decision has her fans fired up and some have come to her defense. tamron has the latest developments in this.

>>this story continues. for 11 years deen earned the admiration of viewers with her sweet southern charm and recipes. now the network dumped her. they are hearing from many of her fans that have gone sour. after her last minute cancellation friday here on today.

>>she is exhausted and will not be showing up.

>> reporter: followed by her youtube apology.

>>i beg for your forgiveness.

>> reporter: then the
food network
's decision to fire her, this weekend it was
paula deen
's fans writing the next chapter in the controversy. on facebook, pages upon pages showing her support started showing up. one called boycott the
food network
,
already over
12,000 likes. another called we support
paula deen
, 281,000 supporters, many expressing their anger. show me an adult person who has not said the
n word
in his life,
black or white
. one person wrote, you without sin
cast the first stone
. another i will not be watching
food network
any longer and they can keep their magazine also. hold your head high, paula. deen fans took to the
food network
page as well where a recipe for casserole drew angry comments instead. it is shameful the way you are treating
paula deen
one said. another wrote i hope this move hits you hard in your pockets.

>>i'm not surprised that her fans reached out for her but the
food network
is not that concerned about a few thousand people on
social media
. they're concerned about sponsors.

>> reporter: meanwhile outside her
savannah georgia
restaurant, this was the line to get in.

>>i commend her by even apologizing. i know a lot of our political leaders in the nation can't even say they're sorry.

>>people make mistakes. we all have. a step at a time. mistakes. let by gones, be by gones.

>>and while her devotees stand by her, the question remains, will the
general public
be as forgiving.

>>i think she's as close to dead as a brand as you can find out there. it could happen but it's an incredibly long shot.

>>despite the fan support the fall out may not be over for deen. she also has a deal with the
shopping channelqvc
and over the weekend
qvc
shares the concerns being raised around the unfortunate
paula deen
situation.
qvc
does not tolerate discriminatory behavior. we're closely monitoring these events and on going investigation. we are reviewing our business relationship with ms. deen and in the meantime we have no immediate plans to point out for
qvc
. and there are people still critical of her as well.

>>but based on the
qvc
situation, to be continued. and as we mentioned
paula deen
will be here for an exclusive live interview this coming wednesday morning on today. she has told us she will be here this time. coming